Should DCA get a monorail station?

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

I think that depends on what happens with DCA over the course of the next 5 years. If DCA starts to truly come into its own and become the popular park that it deserves to be and should have been from the start, then I think a monorail expansion may be warranted (and could be done with minimal interruption of DL monorail service).

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. mycroft16 on Twitter

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

Originally Posted by mycroft16

I think that depends on what happens with DCA over the course of the next 5 years. If DCA starts to truly come into its own and become the popular park that it deserves to be and should have been from the start, then I think a monorail expansion may be warranted (and could be done with minimal interruption of DL monorail service).

I agree. If the huge makeover works out nicely, and DCA becomes a full fledged park of its own, deserving of recognition, then I think it deserves a station. The best place to put it would be in Condor Flats, IMO. It would be neat to see a new station in the "new" park.

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

The same way they do that currently with the main entrances to the parks. When you use a single-day single-park ticket at Disneyland, the ticketing system records which park it was used for and will refuse entry to the other park.

Yes, it would require some changes to operations (including addition of a few ticket stations (preferably hand held scanners that can quickly scan and give a tone to specify valid or not) at the stations. Placing these check stations on the exit ramp for the stations would mean only having to check a single monorails worth of passengers every 10 minutes or so. Anyone whose ticket is not valid for entrance to that park can be sent back onto the monorail.

Logistics would need to be worked out in better detail, but if DCA does become a significantly more popular park than it currently is, this could be a viable option for transport between the parks. Expansion of the monorail beamway could be done without disruption by simply building up to the current beams and then when the rest is complete and ready to go, shut down the monorail, lay in the new ajoining beams, test the circuit and reopen. This would require minimal downtime for the overal monorail system.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. mycroft16 on Twitter

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

Yes. It should've had a station from day one. The monorail system has the chance to be as vital as WDW. It should extend to the proposed third park as well. Why doesn't it extend to the parking structure?

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

It'd be nice, but I honestly can't think of, and have yet to hear a plan for ticketing that would not cause a logistical nightmare.

The Mickey audience is not made up of people; it has no racial, national, political, religious or social differences or affiliations; the Mickey audience is made up of parts of people, of that deathless, precious, ageless, absolutely primitive remnant of something in every world-wracked human being which makes us play with children’s toys and laugh without self-consciousness at silly things, and sing in bathtubs, and dream and believe that our babies are uniquely beautiful. You know…the Mickey in us.
-Walt Disney

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

How about 2 different lines in both parks and DTD. One line would go from the park to DTD and back for single park ticket holders. The other line would be for park hoppers and AP'ers and that would make a stop at both parks and DTD.

Say, Red is Disneyland to DTD. Purple is DCA to DTD. And Blue makes round trips with stops at each location.

That could work if they people went into the correct lines and tickets were check at turnstiles at the beginning or end of the line. But it would make the wait a little longer depending on which stops you needed and your timing at the station.

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

Originally Posted by Steve DeGaetano

For people who don't have APs or park hoppers, how you going to check and see who has valid admission for one park or the other?

Think like New York subway system... or any other turnstyle system which can scan your ticket and then let you through. All you need is one or two CM's standing around when the red light flashes and the doors don't open. Place it in the exit so they have to "scan out" in order to get in the park. It's simple, elegent, already known proven working technology... minimal disruption!

Re: Should DCA get a monorail station?

The two parks are pretty much kissing one another. I personally am not a fan of in-park monorail stops. I believe the Monorail Line should be expanded, or recreated to handle more guests, to transport Anaheim Resort guests and maybe a people mover system be used for inner resort transportation within the DLR property, like at airports.